During this trip we visited 3 fabulous breweries on the French side of the border, 5 on the Belgian side as well as one French genièvre distillery. In France, we visited Brasserie St Germain, Brasserie Thiriez &Brasserie Bailleux(where we had lunch in their magnificent restaurant Au Baron). In Belgium, wevisited Brouwerij Rodenbach,Brouwerij St Bernardus, Brouwerij Van Eecke, Huisbrouwerij Sint Canarus & Chimay.

Sint Canarus is an extremely small brewery which makes really “big” beers. They are located about a half hour drive southwest of Gent in the small town of Gottem (for you Batman fans, you can call it Gottem City).

Dr Canarus

The owner and brew-master Piet Meirhaeghe – who is better known in the beer world as Dr. Canarus, has a very interesting sense of humor which he imparts on his brewery. Both Dr. Canarus & his brewery get their name from a local drinking club, called “Semper Canarus” which translates to always drunk. Also, the word canard meets duck, and if you see a duck walkwe would say it waddles, or looks drunk, therefore the word canard is slang for a drunkard.

Below you will see Dr. Canarus hard at work serving up some of his fantastic brews

Dr Canarus serving up some of the fabulous brews at Sint Canarus

Bottles for sale at Sint Canarus

Beers available at Sint Canarus the day we were there included:

Export, his Pilsner is 4.6%abv

Sint Canarus Tripel 7.5%abv

Sint Canarus Tripel

Maeght van Gottem (which translates to the Virgin of Gottem) is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale at 7.0%abv and inside every bottle, placed by hand, is a single hop cone.

Potteloereke 8% abv a Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Pere Canard, which would translate to drunk father was originally brewed for Christmas and is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale at 9%abv.

Rule of Thirds (Import Series Vol 4) is a Tripel at 8%abv. A Saison Darkly (Import Series Vol 2) is a Saison at 8.0%abv. Both of these are collaborations with Stillwater Artisanal Ales and brewed here.

Here is a peek at the “Large” brewery seen behind Ruth as she enjoys her Pere Canard:

Ruth enjoying her Pere Canard at Sint Carnarus

Currently, Potteloereke & Sint Canarus Tripel are their only “non- collaboration” beers which are being imported to the USA (12% Imports) and they not too easy to find-so we hope you’ll join us for our awesome upcoming beer trip-“Grand Crus to Farmhouse Brews- A Beercation Cruise through Belgium & France” where you can enjoy these wonderful beers and experience the special humor of Dr. Canarus yourself!

This is all the beer we were able to fit in our luggage without going over the 50 pound limit. We also had some fantastic Bière de Garde from St Germain (Page 24) and Belgian Ales from Sint Canarus, which we weren’t able to bring back home due to the weight limits.

During this working vacation we had the chance to visit 8 of the 11 breweries which will be on our tour. This included 3 fabulous breweries on the France side of the border, 5 on the Belgium side and one French genièvre distillery. From France we visited Brasserie Bailleux / Au Baron, Brasserie St Germain & Brasserie Thiriez. In Belgium wevisited Brouwerij Rodenbach,Brouwerij St Bernardus, Brouwerij Van Eecke, Huisbrouwerij Sint Canarus & Chimay.

Over the next few days in this blog we will be highlighting each of the breweries on our tour as well as share some amazing beery information on the beer scene in Lille. For those who want a quick look at the amazing Day by Day Itinerary of the Grand Crus to Farmhouse Brews- A Beercation Cruise click here.

Beers in the Photo from left to right are:

The Pastis by Ricard, well it’s not beer but was added as a palate cleanser between beers 🙂

Dalva, a fantastic D.I.P.A. from Brasserie Thiriez.

Toyko, a Witbier from St Bernardus which was made for their new brewpub in Toyko.

2 great Saisons from Brasserie Baileux (Au Baron) both the Brune and the AmbréeSaison Saint Médard.

Rodenbach’s Caractère Rouge which cost only 7.99 euro at a supermarket close to the French/Belgian border.

Rodenbach 2009 Vintage, a gift from the Rudi the brewer.

The last 3 beers were found at L’Abbaye des Saveurs a fabulous bottle shop in Lille which carries over 300 different beers, including a great selection of French beers:Cuvée D’Oscar from Craig Allen.

Kabert (a blend of Kate the Great and Black Albert) from de Struise.

1997 Samichlaus (the last year it was made and bottled by the old brewery Hürlimann in Zürich Switzerland, it is now made by Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg in Austria).